Respect women, UK judge tells disgraced Indian

London: An Indian citizen who sexually assaulted two teenagers in Manchester has been sentenced to six months in jail, even as the judge asked him to respect women.

Gurpreet Singh, 31, who has been in the UK on a work visa since 2007, had already been convicted of beating his wife in January.

Singh was accused by the judge John Maxwell of showing a ‘total disregard and lack of respect’ for women, reports from Manchester said.

Singh sexually assaulted two teenage girls in broad daylight in Piccadilly Gardens after showing them a porn film on his mobile phone.

After telling the 17-year-olds they were beautiful, he began making obscene suggestions before touching one of them on the knee and kissing her friend on the leg.

Bill Dowdall, defending lawyer, said Singh was hoping to stay in Britain permanently. On the day he approached the girls he had been drinking heavily.

Hearing of Singh’s plans to stay in Britain, the judge commented, "If he does stay I sincerely hope he will learn to respect women."

Judge Maxwell told him, "In the short time you have been here you have exhibited a total disregard and lack of respect for women."

Singh admitted sexually touching the girls without consent and was sentenced to six months jail suspended for 18 months and 300 hours unpaid work. The judge also ordered him to pay each victim 250 pounds compensation.

He was put on the sex offence register for seven years and his mobile phone was confiscated and destroyed. One of the girls in a statement said "he made me feel physically sick and his demeanour was intimidating".

Odishatv.in is an initiative by Odisha Television to connect netizens to the latest information about Odisha and beyond. The site is also a gateway to the state and offers a wide spectrum of subjects such as History, Demography, Art and Culture, Tourist places, Festivals, Eminent sons of soil and so on.